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Ask the Doctor January 2018 Issue

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Dear Doctor: Are Vegetables Beneficial?

If you choose to add veggies to your cat’s meal, be sure they are safe for her to ingest and that they don’t add too many extra calories to her daily intake.

Q My wife likes to purée vegetables — like peas, carrots and sweet potato — and mix it into our cat’s canned food. Is this okay to do? Are there any vegetables that should never be added to the cat food? We also add some cranberry powder (made for cats), along with some hairball powder. We trying to be to health-minded, but can we be causing potential problems?

David Smith

A Dear David: While adding puréed vegetables to cat food is certainly not necessary, it shouldn’t be harmful if you avoid avocado, onion and garlic, and if you keep the total calories of the mixture to less than 10 percent of your cat’s daily calorie intake (lower if your cat gets any other treats). For a typical cat, this means no more than 25 calories per day from veggies/treats.

I assume that you are using the cranberry supplement for urinary health. While there is a bit of evidence that certain cranberry supplements may reduce the risk of urinary tract infections from specific bacteria in dogs, I am unaware of evidence of a similar benefit in cats. Moreover, most urinary tract signs in cats — increased urination, urinating outside the box, straining to urinate — are not due to infection, so it is unlikely that the supplement will be of any benefit.

It is important to discuss all supplements with your veterinarian because safety and efficacy of supplements do not need to be proven prior to being sold. No doubt due to the lack of regulatory oversight of dietary supplements, there have been many reported quality control issues with even supplements that should be safe based on the listed ingredients — sometimes what’s actually in the product does not match what is on the label.

This can unfortunately include products that are marketed as “veterinary approved,” so it is important to discuss with your veterinarian and thoroughly investigate any dietary supplements prior to using them.